Naomi Osaka Mints It Rich Again, Now Trails LeBron James, Roger Federer and Tiger Woods in Endorsement Earnings

Naomi Osaka has had a nightmarish season on clay this year but that doesn’t seem to have affected her earnings off the court. If anything, her off-court earnings have grown manifold over the last 12 months, helping her rake in more than any woman athlete has in history.

Naomi Osaka earned $50 million off the court in the last 12 months

According to Boardroom, which tracks the wealth and earnings of celebrity athletes, Osaka made an eye-popping $50 million off the court over the last 12 months and her net tally of $55.2 million earned through endorsements and other commercial tie-ups is the highest ever for any woman sportsperson.

What’s more, the current World No. 2 is now only behind NBA superstar LeBron James, 20-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer and golfing great Tiger Woods in terms of earnings outside the chosen field of sport, making her one of the most marketable athletes ever.

Last year, Forbes magazine had named Osaka as the highest-paid female athlete, with her net earnings of $37.4 million from prize money and endorsements even eclipsing the money that her idol and 23-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams and former Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova ever made in a calendar year. A staggering $34 million of her earnings last year was through endorsements, Forbes had revealed.

Tennis legend and 18-time Grand Slam champion Chris Evert shared the Boardroom tweet on Osaka’s off-court earnings on her official handle and said, “Tremendous (emojis).”

Osaka hasn’t been striking it rich on court

While she is more than sorted in terms of personal wealth, the 23-year-old Japanese hasn’t exactly been minting it rich on the tennis court of late.

Though she followed up her third career Grand Slam title at last year’s US Open with her second Australian Open championship trophy this year, she has struggled to reverse her fortunes on clay.

Opening her clay-court season in Madrid, Osaka was sent packing in the third round by Czech star Karolina Muchova. She followed it up with a straight-set loss in her Rome opener to American Jessica Pegula.

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